On Tuesday afternoon, the United States Department of Education announced that the Amagansett School has been named a National Blue Ribbon School, a prestigious and difficult-to-obtain honor that is based largely on students’ academic performance. Though there was applause, the announcement did little to ease the tension in the room at a board meeting later in the day, as it quickly became apparent that parents and teachers had come prepared with pointed questions about how school operations have been running lately.
Springs Fire Department Updates Cell Tower Proposal
After two years of silence, the Springs Fire Department has filed updated plans to build a cell tower at its headquarters at 179 Fort Pond Boulevard. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in what has been, at times, an acrimonious battle over the tower. A lot has changed since July 2020, when it was ordered that the previous application for a 185-foot tower, which required 30 variances, needed to undergo an extensive environmental review.
September 21, 2023
New Wrinkle in Town-Duryea’s Feud
The outside counsel representing East Hampton Town in its long-running dispute with Duryea’s Lobster Deck on Fort Pond Bay in Montauk asked a New York State Supreme Court justice last week to vacate a 2019 order allowing a certificate of occupancy for the restaurant. Recently posted photos showing indoor seating led to a charge that it has “illegally converted a limited outdoor food service establishment into a full-blown restaurant and event space.”
Sep 21, 2023
Nightclub Replacement Nears Approval
After opening its Sept. 13 meeting with a quote from a Grateful Dead song, the East Hampton Town Planning Board revisited three applications that they’ve discussed multiple times, making sure they were ready for a vote.
Sep 21, 2023
Police & Courts
Capt. Jeff Erickson, who has been with the East Hampton Village police since he graduated from the police academy in 1991, was named acting chief of the department at Friday’s village board meeting.
Sep 21, 2023
On Saturday afternoon, Harbormaster Joseph Vish responded to a report of an unknown material — what looked to be either a pile of 10 “horse manure patties” or “granola cookies with hard candies pushed inside them,” according to the official report — in the parking lot of Sammy’s Beach. He cleaned up the mess.
Sep 21, 2023
Town and county police are seeking the public’s help in finding three men who they say engaged in criminal mischief at Marshall and Sons Service Center on Sept. 2.
Sep 21, 2023
Government
An amended town zoning code that would reduce allowable house size, clearing of vegetation, and lot coverage will get a public hearing on Oct. 5.
Sep 21, 2023
The East Hampton Town Board looked favorably on a proposal to install three small “stations” in coastal areas within the town that are meant to document site changes such as sea level rise and changing coastlines.
Sep 21, 2023
More than 600 “cobra-head” streetlights and around 10 historical streetlight fixtures will soon be converted to light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, reducing both costs and energy consumption in East Hampton Town by around 60 percent, the town board was told on Tuesday.
Sep 21, 2023
The New York League of Conservation Voters has endorsed Ann Welker for Suffolk County Legislature in the Second District.
Sep 21, 2023
Villages
After a Hot Summer, a Long March
South Fork residents were among an estimated 75,000 people who participated in Sunday’s March to End Fossil Fuels in Manhattan, at the conclusion of the hottest summer since global record-keeping of temperatures began and amid multiple signals around the world that climate change is happening now and getting worse. “I’m here personally because my granddaughter is also here, and I want a livable planet for her and her generation, and, in fact, all living beings,” said Francesca Rheannon of Springs, who is on East Hampton Town’s Energy and Sustainability Advisory Committee.
Summer 2023 Had Its Ups and Downs
How busy was the summer of 2023 on the South Fork? There are some interesting metrics out there. Wastewater is one: The amount treated in Sag Harbor during June, July, and August was up roughly six percent over 2022 levels. On East Hampton Village beaches, lifeguards recorded 376 saves. But summer rentals were down on the real estate market, and certain restaurants experienced less traffic than they'd hoped.
57 Years Later, Lola Comes Home to Bridgehampton
When it arrives at the Bridgehampton Museum on Sunday for display, one particular car, a Lola T70 Eagle, will have come full circle, as race cars tend to do. Fifty-seven years ago, the legendary driver Dan Gurney drove it to win the 1966 Can Am race in Bridgehampton. On Sunday, the historically significant car will be on view for the public for two hours only — 9 to 11 a.m. — during the museum’s annual Cars and Coffee event.
